I have found a really neat website, courtesy of the CIA. It's the World Factbook 2002 and it outdoes any almanac or encyclopedia you ever saw. If you are an armchair traveler, you'll love it. On a stress-filled workday when you really want to get away from it all, peruse the charms of Clipperton Island or Tromelin Island (population zero for both). You can learn, as I did, that the Island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands between France and England are the last remnants of the Dukedom of Normandy (as in William the Conqueror). Enjoy.